Deck Glands

[ailsaboat]

After what seems like an eternity, I'm just about ready to put the mast back up, so thoughts have turned to deck glands.
There will be five cables to get through the deck.
The options as I see them are:
(It's a steel deck by the way)
1, Five single glands, three one side of the mast,two the other.
2, Two of the longer glands that you cut your own holes in, one either side.
3, Manufacture a U bend thing (not sure of the correct term) and weld it to the deck just in front of the mast to accept all five cables.

Obviously, apart from water integrity, corrosion is my biggest concern.
Does the panel have any opinions on the above, or other suggestions?

Thanks

 

[Bajansailor]

I think I would fabricate a nice stainless steel 'U' shaped cable pipe to take all 5 cables together.
Raise the top of the upside down 'U' as high as possible, with a full 180 degree bend on the 'U', and the odds of green water getting down below via this aperture should be slight. And it will also function as a ventilator. You could even run the pipe down towards the bilge (with the cables exiting via a secondary pipe just under the cabin top perhaps) so that if you do get a green sea coming down the pipe, it won't spray over everything in the vicinity.

Standard cable glands will have to be bedded and bolted to the deck - another potential source of leaks and corrosion underneath.
I think that with all steel boats (and aluminium) one should always aim to weld (rather than bolt) fittings wherever possible.
(We had a steel boat for 12 years, and learnt the hard way re what not to do with her!)

 

[chasroberts]

If you decide to go the deck gland route havre a look at this company
Driplugs
No connection just a very happy customer. Not the cheapest but the product is absolutely top class. Disconnecting takes 10 seconds and there are waterproof caps supplied for both sections. And the good thing is - they do work.

Good luck
Chas

 

[tillergirl]

This might be a quite bizarre way of doing this. Have a look at this

http://www.hr-parts.com/Shop/enter.html

419 krona is only £30ish according to my currency converter.

A pipe is the only way to go in my view. I've had nothing but disappointment from Driplugs and all the other types.

 

[cliff]

Your link only goes to main page. Look under "deck equipment" then "fittings" and you will find

This
--------------------

"Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity"
sailroom <span style="color:red">The place to auction your previously loved boatie bits</span>

 

[Ships_Cat]

The best and tidiest way, in my opinion, and usually achievable on metal yachts is to take the cables through a straight vertical standpipe(s) through the deck inside the mast step itself so inside the foot of the mast (assuming mast is deck stepped, as is usual case with metal boats, and cables come down inside it). The standpipe just has to be high enuff so that water draining down the inside of the mast does not pool high enuff in the step to overflow into the stand pipe.

In effect, the mast itself serves the purpose of a swan neck tube and all cables are hidden in the mast where they go through the deck.

We specified our own steel boat this way when it was built for us (the idea was from the boat's designer) and after 10 years of being in a very exposed marina with high winds and alot of rain, and awash when at sea have never had a drop come into the boat. Unfortunately, if your mast is currently stepped (but it seems it is not) then you would have to unstep it to use this method.

John

 

[rogerthebodger]

I have used the same fitting a shown by cliff but added a connection box between the deck and the goose neck.

 

[pvb]

Interesting...

Interesting deck surface you have there! Is it more hard-wearing than teak? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[jon]

Also the Skywave deck gland:
http://www.skywave.co.uk/acatalog/Skywave_Catalogue_DECK_GLANDS_57.html

 

[rogerthebodger]

Re: Interesting...

Yes very hard wearing and very non slip as well but it would make the yacht a bit top heavy.

I took the photo on by house drive before I fitted it. In fact I removed it to gritblast and re-paint the yacht.

Can't find a pic with it fitted but it is located just to left (stern) of the mast base fitting in the pic below

 

[Benbow]

That is not what I call a deck gland, that is a deck plug and IMHE the work of the devil.

These are deck glands

 

[ailsaboat]

Thanks for the advise everyone.
The last link (deck glands) are the ones I'm not sure about. Similar to the ones that came off that had caused corrosion, hense the reason I had to weld the deck. But I suppose they could have just been fitted badly.
The U bend sounds the safest option, but the Sky wave looks interesting, could tack the fixing bolts to the deck so only the main 'gland' hole in the deck - I've done this with a couple of other fittings

 

[chibb]

On our steel boat, we've got a galvanised 90 degree pipe bend which (I think) is welded to the deck. Once all the wires have been passed through I liberally squeezed silicone sealant between all the wires and the edges of the pipe. Although its a bit harder work its very unlikely to leak, and it isn't all that hard to remove all the wires by carefully carving out the silicone around the edge.